samavsshameWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sama is a pronoun, shame is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sama” is a pronoun and “shame” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,025
“sama” frequency rank
#36,228
“shame” frequency rank
64253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sama shame
Definition forma nominativo feminino singular do pronome sám vergonha; desonra

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sama and shame apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
sama
5 ch
shame

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: sama is apronoun and shameanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sama is recorded at frequency rank #28,025, classified as apron. shame is at rank #36,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʃeɪm/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 64253, this pair ranks #5,856 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sama vs shame

Shared letters: ams. Private to "sama": -. Private to "shame": eh.

"sama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "shame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • samasaam · samma · smaa · ssama
  • shamehsame · sahme · shaem · shamme · shhame · shmae · sshame

Frequency comparison

sama#28,025
shame#36,228

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sama" and "shame" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sama" is a pronoun and "shame" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sama" or "shame"?
"sama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,025 in our Portuguese list, against #36,228 for "shame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sama vs shame

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “sama”; for a noun, it's “shame”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sama” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list